Mail Call

Mail Call was a television show which aired on The History Channel, from 2002-2009. On the show, retired Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey answers letters and E-mails asking military questions from the past to today. Gunny answers these questions in interesting ways, usually showing us the information hands on and testing it for the show. This page covers the weapons he has tested throughout the series.

NOTE: Though IMFDB does not permit documentaries this page had been made an exception by Administrators.

Season 1

Mail Call: The Best of Season 1

M1 Garand

The M1 Garand rifle has made several appearances on the show including an episode in which an M7 Rifle Grenade Launcher (which is used to fire inert M9A1 Rifle Grenades) is fired from it and an episode in which 101st paratrooper re-enactors are seen armed with them. In almost every episode, an M1 is seen on Gunny's jeep saddle.

M1 Garand - .30-06.

An M1 Garand is seen in a saddle on Gunny's jeep.

M7 rifle grenade launcher.

M9A1 Rifle Grenade

Mk 2 training grenade fitted with an M1A2 rifle grenade adapter

Gunny picks up a dummy M9A1 rifle grenade and the M7 launcher. Also in this shot is a Mk 2 hand grenade with an M1A2 rifle grenade adapter

Gunny picks up a blank to fire the grenade.

Gunny explains to the camera about the M1 and the grenade.

Gunny loads a blank into the M1.

Gunny fires the dummy grenade which lands rather unimpressively.

A 101st re-enactor with an M1 Garand.

A re-enactor aims his M1, which is fitted with a muzzle blank adapter.

A re-enactor reloads his M1.

M1-C Garand Sniper

A U.S. Marine is seen firing an M1-C Garand rifle, a modified M1 rifle with a scope mounted for sniper roles. Based on the type of scope mount, it appears to be an M1-C and not an M1-D.

M1A1 Thompson

A re-enactor reloads his M1A1 Thompson with a magazine loaded with blanks.

Smith & Wesson Victory

One of the 101st re-enactors keeps a Smith & Wesson Victory Model in a Navy-style shoulder holster. This is an odd choice, as they were typically issued to Navy and Marine aircrew.

Smith & Wesson Victory - .38. The actual gun used in the series is available for viewing at Bear Arms in Scottsdale, AZ. Ask for Kurt.

Mike Phillips with a Smith & Wesson Victory in his holster.

Norinco Type 56-1

During the episode on body armor, Gunny uses an Norinco Type 56-1 with a bakelite magazine, fitted with an AKM slant muzzle break, and fitted with darker furniture to shoot several types of body armor, since it is the most common enemy weapon.

Norinco Type 56-1 - 7.62x39mm.

Gunny picks up the Norinco Type 56-1.

Gunny puts rounds into the armor vest. He is kind of chicken winging it here, but there is no doubt that he can shoot.

Gunny prepares to shoot a Vietnam era flak jacket. Note how he has the bolt locked open, and loads it by releasing it with the selector switch. It's not often you see someone do that with an AK.

A close up of the receiver reveals the gun is a semi-auto civilian model. Note the position of Gunny's fingers, which get whacked after the first shot. He then repositions.

M16A2 + M203 grenade launcher

In one episode, Gunny is sent an E-mail asking how grenade launchers work. To show us, he went to Camp Pendleton, California to see how the Marine recruits test them, firing M203 grenade launchers from M16A2 rifles.

M16A2 fitted with an M203 grenade launcher - 5.56x45mm/40mm.

A Marine fires his M203 launcher from his M16A2.

A Marine fires his M203 down range.

A nice close up on the M16A2 rifle.

Close up of the M203 launcher.

A line up of M16A2/M203s.

A Marine reloads his M203.

This rifle gets its 15 minutes of fame.

The drill instructor teaches the recruits how to use the M203 launchers.

For the episode in which Gunny introduces the XM29 OICW, he first introduces the M16A2 fitted with an M203, as if the gun is now completely obsolete due to this gun.

Gunny shows off the M16A2/M203 before showing us the OICW.

M79 grenade launcher

For the episode on grenade launchers, Gunny takes his Blooper to the range at Camp Pendleton.

M79 grenade launcher - 40mm.

Gunny shows off his M79 grenade launcher.

Gunny with his M79 at Camp Pendleton.

The M79 gets its 15 minutes of fame.

Vietnam footage of a soldier teaching another to load and shoot an M79 launcher. He does rather poorly.

Vietnam footage of a soldier firing an M79.

Heckler & Koch XM29 Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW)

In one episode, Gunny shows us a new gun in development by Heckler & Koch, the XM29 Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW), basically a Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle fitted with a 20mm five shot semi-automatic grenade launcher with a heavy computer scope to calculate airburst. Since everyone has already seen the G36 fire, they only fire the 20mm launcher on this show. While weighing a hefty 18lbs in current form, they hope to shave down the weight to 11lbs in the future.

1999 Heckler & Koch XM29 OICW prototype - 5.56x45mm/20mm.

An operator aims down the H&K XM29 OICW (left) and a FPS view of the computer scope (right).

Mk 2 hand grenade

Gunny has been seen pulling out a Mk 2 hand grenade in several episodes, mainly the episodes on grenades and grenade launchers.

Mk 2 hand grenade.

"What does the old Gunny have in his bag of tricks today? A trusty old 'handgrenade'."

Mk 2 grenades are seen in the 101st re-enactor's grenade pouch.

Gunny shows off a Mk 2 grenade.

Mk 2 grenades are seen on a soldier's belt in WWII footage.

Gunny picks up a Mk 2 grenade.

Gunny sums up the episode.

M67 hand grenade

In one episode, a viewer asks how a grenade works. Gunny heads out to Camp Pendleton, California to see the Marines uses grenades. Throughout the training, M67 hand grenades are used by the Marine recruits and the instructors. Unfortunately, Gunny was not allowed to toss real grenades, so he settled for chucking some duds and editing in real ones blowing up.

M67 hand grenade.

An instructor shows how to arm a grenade, using a blue painted training grenade for safety.

The instructor shows off a live M67 grenade.

The instructor teaches grenade throwing.

The instructor shows how the spring loaded striker strikes the primer.

CGI shots showing how a grenade works.

Fragments from an M67 grenade. Looks painful.

Gunny inspects the M67 grenade.

M26 hand grenade

An M26 hand grenade (or M61 grenade) is seen hanging on the belt of the Vietnam re-enactor during the episode on body armor.

The instructor shows off the 9mm tracer rounds used in the training AT4s.

A recruit fires the 9mm training AT4.

Recruits firing AT4s.

Close up on the bolt action.

A soldier firing an AT4 in the field.

M72 LAW

Before introducing the AT4, footage shows the older M72 LAW rocket launcher.

M72A2 LAW - 66mm.

A soldier in Vietnam extends his M72A1 LAW.

A soldier fires the LAW.

M16A1

During the episode on night vision, soldiers in Vietnam are seen using very large experimental night vision scopes on M16A1 rifles, most likely AN/PVS-2 Starlight scopes.

M16A1 - 5.56x45mm.

A soldier aims through the bulky night vision scope of his M16A1.

A soldier aiming his M16A1.

An M16A1 rifle is also seen in the hands of a Vietnam re-enactor during the episode on body armor.

The re-enactor with his M16A1.

M60 machine gun

Soldiers in Vietnam are seen using M60 machine guns. A current soldier is also seen firing an M60 while the camera films in night vision.

M60 machine gun - 7.62x51mm NATO.

A soldier in Vietnam lugs his M60 on his shoulder.

A soldier empties his M60 as the NV camera films.

M60E3 machine gun

A U.S soldier in Iraq is seen with an M60E3 machine gun during the episode on body armor.

M60E3 - 7.62x51mm NATO.

A U.S. soldier with an M60E3.

M16A4

A soldier is seen in Night Vision mode armed with a flat rail M16, likely an M16A4 fitted with an EOTech 552 sight and an EOTech 3x magnifier.

M16A4 - 5.56x45mm.

A soldier armed with a decked out M16A4. The soldier behind him appears to have a CAR-15 variant, which isn't seen good enough for a positive I.D.

L85A2

A Gurkha Soldier is seen armed with an L85A2 during the episode on Kukri knives.

LA85A2 - 5.56x45mm.

An ethnic Nepalese Gurkha soldier armed with an L85A2 and a Kukri knife. Note finger on trigger which is not recommended in standard U.S. style training.

Beretta M9

U.S. soldiers are seen armed with Beretta M9 pistols as their sidearms during the episode on body armor.

Beretta M9 pistol - U.S. Military-adopted version of the Beretta 92FS - 9mm. Note nomenclature on slide distinguishing this from a standard civilian Beretta 92FS.

A U.S. soldier with his M9.

A U.S. soldier with his M9, the man next to him with an M16A2.

Season 2

Mail Call: The Best of Season 2

M1 Garand

Like Season 1, Gunny keeps an M1 Garand rifle in a saddle on his jeep.

M1 Garand - .30-06.

An M1 Garand is seen in the saddle of Gunny's jeep.

M1 Carbine

An M1 Carbine is seen laying next to Gunny when he tries out a BAR during the episode on soldier's training.

M1 Carbine - .30 Carbine.

An M1 Carbine lays next to Gunny.

Browning Automatic Rifle

Gunny tests a Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR during the episode on soldier's training, claiming he is training down in the dirt, just the way the Marines like it.

Browning Automatic Rifle - .30-06.

Gunny fires a BAR.

Luckily, Gunny's favorite gun makes another appearance when a viewer asks to learn more about it, which Gunny faithfully does and test fires it. Unfortunately, he refers to it as a Bar, not a B.A.R., as it should be pronounced.

Gunny energetically shows off the "Bar".

An American soldier fires a BAR in WWI footage.

Gunny with the BAR.

Gunny slips the stock into the belt loop, designed to allow hip-firing without having to struggle to control the recoil.

March firing!

Infantry Mounted Lewis Gun

One viewer asked Gunny about the Lewis gun, so naturally, he tested it out for the show. While he uses the infantry model, the aircraft model with spade grips is seen used by soldiers in WWI footage.

Lewis Gun MK 1 Infantry - .303.

Lewis Gun MK 2 1913 Aircraft gun - .303.

Gunny shows off the Lewis Gun.

A soldier fires a spade grip Lewis Gun in WWI footage.

A soldier fires an infantry Lewis Gun in WWI footage.

A soldier holds a Lewis Aircraft gun.

Gunny fires the Lewis Gun. He first rests his thumb on the receiver before the bolt hits it, which he calmly ignores and repositions.

Springfield 1903

Springfield 1903 rifles are seen in the hands of American soldiers in WWI footage.

Springfield 1903 - .30-06.

U.S. Soldiers with Springfield 1903 rifles.

"Doughboys" fires their Springfield '03s.

Hotchkiss M1914

Springfield 1861

In one episode, a viewer asks Gunny who had the better rifle during the Civil War. The two most generic rifles were selected, the Union rifle being a Springfield 1861 rifle. In the end, Gunny decides that the Springfield was the superior weapon. They did win the war after all.

Springfield 1861 - .58 caliber Miné Ball .

Gunny shows off the Springfield 1861.

The Union soldier re-enactor fires his Springfield 1861.

Extreme close up of the Springfield.

Being considered a far better marksman due to his Marine training, Gunny tries out the Springfield and fairs much better.

"Sight alignment, trigger squeeze."

Enfield 1853

In the same episode, the opposing rifle represented for the Confederacy is the British 1853 Enfield. While this rifle has ladder elevated sights, the grooved Miné Ball round had better flight stability. In reality, both rifles were about the same.

Enfield 1853 - .58 caliber.

The Confederate soldier re-enactor fires his Enfield 1853.

Extreme close up of the Enfield.

Gunny uses his superior marksmanship to test out the Enfield.

Colt 1860 Army

During the episode on Cavalry riders, Civil War re-enactors use Colt 1860 Army revolvers.

Flintlock Pistol

Matchlock Musket

For the episode on medieval weaponry, a man fires a reproduction Matchlock Musket.

A man fires his Matchlock musket.

Handgunn

Also in the episode on medieval weaponry is one of the most primitive portable firearms, the Handgunn.

A man fires the Handgunn.

The man shows off the Handgunn.

The man fires the Handgunn.

Browning M2HB

Browning M2HB machine guns are seen many times throughout season two. Probably the most notable being the episode on Marine soldier training, in which Gunny gets to man a .50 caliber designed for indoor training at Camp Pendleton, using gas tanks to fire and recoil realistically like the real deal.

Browning M2HB - .50 BMG.

Gunny gets on the simulation M2HB.

The guy running the simulation training loads the M2HB with a belt of .50 BMG. The belt has a magnetic sensor that tells the gun when it is loaded and empty. From the control room, the operator can cause jams and malfunctions with the guns to make the training harder.

Gunny racks the charging handle twice to chamber the gun.

Gunny shoots the enemies on the screen.

An M2HB is mounted on the hatch of the speedy Hellcat tank.

A soldier looks through his binoculars while leaning on an M2HB.

When Gunny visits Fort Irwin, California to watch how OP-4 laser training is done, deactivated M2HBs with gutted out receivers and barrels are seen mounted on tanks.

An deactivated M2HB at Fort Irwin.

A soldier mans the deactivated M2HB.

M136 AT4

During the indoors training simulation at Camp Pendleton, one of the Marines is seen using a specially modified M136 AT4.

M136 AT4 - 84mm.

Close up on the bolt action of the AT4.

A Marine firing his simulation AT4 in training.

The Marine with his AT4.

The simulated back-blast of the AT4.

FN M240G

During the indoors training simulation at Camp Pendleton, one of the Marines is seen using an FN M240G machine gun running of the gas tanks. Gunny later tries one of these out.

FN Minimi

FN M249-E2 Squad Automatic Weapon

The FN M249-E2 Squad Automatic Weapon or "SAW" makes several appearances in season 2 including several of them modified for the indoor training room at Camp Pendleton and soldiers are seen training with them at Fort Irwin, California.

FN M249-E2 SAW - 5.56x45mm.

A Marine in the training room fires the gas tank powered M249-E2 SAW.

The M249-E2 SAW gets its 15 minutes of fame.

Gunny picks up the SAW.

Gunny fires the SAW from the hip and takes out 3 enemies with a short burst. Pretty impressive.

Close up on the SAW.

A soldier at Fort Irwin fires a SAW.

A solider with a SAW at Fort Irwin.

Mk 19 grenade launcher

Among the guns in the training simulation is a Mk 19 grenade launcher. When the Marine uses it during training, the operator jams it on him, so he is forced to clear it.

SNAFU

NOTE: SNAFU is a DVD only release of bloopers from the TV show Mail Call. You will see guns from other seasons on here again, although with more screen time, since in most cases the guns are the bloopers.

M1 Garand

As always, Gunny has his M1 Garand stored in the saddle on his jeep. We once again see him fire the M7 rifle grenade from the rifle, although we actually see what the dummy grenade does instead of a rather lame joke about hitting someone's truck and having enough insurance to cover it. We also see Gunny firing the rifle for real at one point.

M1 Garand - .30-o6.

Gunny with his M1 Garand in his rifle case.

Gunny's M1 Garand in the saddle.

Gunny with his M1 in his lap as he reads an E-mail from a viewer who had the audacity to ask him if he uses a shooting double to make him look like a better shot.

M7 rifle grenade launcher.

Gunny attaches the rifle grenade to the launcher.

Gunny aims the rifle grenade.

Gunny loads a blank in the M1 Garand.

Gunny fires the rifle grenade. When it hits the ground with no explosion, he turns to the camera and remarks, "That was pretty disgusting."

M1 Carbine

M1A1 Carbine

An M1A1 Carbine paratrooper model is seen next to Gunny in a few episodes and at one point Gunny shoots one.

M1A1 Carbine - .30 Carbine.

An M1A1 Carbine on the table next to Gunny.

Gunny chambers his M1A1 Carbine.

Gunny fires the M1A1 Carbine.

Gunny tastes his kill.

"It's a little gamey."

M1 Thompson

An M1 Thompson is seen stuck in a saddle on a German Motorcycle, and also seen in a saddle on Gunny's jeep.

M1 Thompson - .45 ACP.

An M1 Thompson in a saddle on the German bike.

An M1 Thompson is seen in a saddle on Gunny's jeep.

M1928A1 Thompson

Gunny is seen firing a M1928A1 Thompson, comparing it to the MP40 submachine gun.

M1928A1 Thompson with simple "L" sights - .45 ACP.

Gunny goes to try out the Thompson.

Gunny fires the Thompson from the hip, and does surprisingly well.

Close up on the Thompson.

MP40

Gunny tries out the MP40 submachine gun to compare with the Thompson. He refers to it as the "Burp Gun".

MP40 - 9mm.

"Now lets try the 'Burp Gun'."

Gunny fires the MP40 from the hip.

Close up on the MP40.

Browning Automatic Rifle

We see some goofs from the episode in Season 2 when Gunny fires the BAR, which proves to be far more unreliable than we see on the aired episode.

Browning Automatic Rifle - .30-06.

Gunny slips the BAR in the belt loop.

"Today, B-A-R stood for 'Busted Already'." That's just "BA".

Gunny march fires with the BAR and lets off a good burst before it jams.

Standard method of clearing a jam: "Pull, Push, Tap, attempt to fire." He laughs when it actually doesn't fire.

Bren Gun

Gunny lets loose some rounds from a Bren gun, and we see a few more in the Bren Carrier behind him.

Bren Gun Mk 2. - .303.

"I'm loaded and I'm ready to make a little fruit salad!"

Gunny firing the Bren.

A Bren is also seen sticking out of a Bren Carrier when Gunny takes the wheel, and also manages to mangle the clutch on it.

A Bren sticking out the front of the Bren Carrier.

Browning M2HB

Gunny is seen firing a Browning M2HB on an anti-aircraft mount into the air. Hopefully the location he is shooting at has been cleared for 5 miles because firing .50 BMGs into the air is very dangerous.

Browning M2HB - .50 BMG.

Close up of the Browning M2HB.

Gunny loads up the M2HB.

Gunny fires the M2HB.

Note the amount of dust that gets kicked up from the muzzle, even though the gun is firing in the air.

An M2HB is also seen mounted on an M-3 Scout Vehicle when Gunny drives it.

An M2HB mounted on an M-3 Scout.

The M2HB mounted on the M-3.

Liberator

Gunny tries out a Liberator pistol for the show. This gun was a single shot .45 ACP dropped to resistance fighters during WWII as a weapon designed to shoot someone and take their weapon. The gun has a 4 round reserve in the grip so the soldier can fire it five times before it becomes useless. The Liberator took all of seven seconds to make in a factory, which makes it the only firearm that takes longer to load than to make. Sadly, all the Liberators were melted down or dumped in the ocean so vintage examples are very hard to find.

FP-45 Liberator - .45 ACP.

Gunny shows off the Liberator.

Gunny does surprisingly well for a smooth bore like that.

Infantry Mounted Lewis Gun

Again from Season 2, we see Gunny firing the Lewis gun, but what we didn't see was how the gun blows up in his face.

Lewis Gun - .303.

Gunny shows off the drum for the Lewis Gun.

Gunny loads the Lewis Gun with a drum of .303.

Gunny fires the Lewis gun and again we see him hit his thumb on the bolt.

The Lewis Gun blows up in Gunny's face. He doesn't flinch though, claiming he has discipline and didn't want to shoot the damn thing again.

The four selection trigger group is rather obvious here, showing it an MP5A5.

Glock 18C

Being a member of Team Glock, Gunny naturally has to get some trigger time on a Glock. The model he fires is a Glock 18C, the full-auto Glock 18 with compensator ports on the slide to control muzzle rise, fitted with a 33 round magazine.

Glock 18C with standard 19 round magazine - 9mm.

Gunny loads up the Glock 18C.

Gunny fires the Glock 18C.

Close up on the Glock 18C. Note the night sights, a simple $15 upgrade.

"Yeah, that's what I like!" Obviously he can't say if he actually did like it or not, since it would hurt Glock's image if their spokes person said it sucks.

Heckler & Koch XM8 (rifle configuration)

Heckler & Koch XM8 (carbine configuration)

Due to the rifle's versatility, the Heckler & Koch XM8 is changed from rifle to carbine configuration. While the gun was also changed to a LMG version, this isn't seen in SNAFU.

Gunny fires the super-short Carbine XM8.

Close up on the receiver of the shorty XM8.

Note the para-style collapsing stock.

Nambu Type 92

Gunny fires a Nambu Type 92 heavy machine gun nicknamed the "woodpecker" for its distinctive sound, which has terrible reliability.

Nambu Type 92 HMG - 7.7mm.

Gunny pulls back the charging handle and opens the dust cover on the Nambu Type 92 machine gun.

The Nambu Type 92 machine gun.

The Nambu Type 92 machine gun.

A little bit of Gunny's anxiety: "Jam. You see the Japs weren't to smart when it came to making weapons. Did you notice that stuttering sound? I guess you didn't since only one round went off, how can it stutter? That's dumb."

Gunny finally gets the gun to fire more than one round. Note how he loaded the belt strip on the right side now.

To Come Later

Gunny shows off an IMI Galil during the episode when he visits Knob Creek. While I could likely I.D. these guns myself, I'll let you guys have some fun. Keep it organized please. And don't worry, I'll be sure to do an in depth analysis of the Knob Creek episode later on.

That's definitely an M82A1 .50 BMG in the background on the field Shooter

I can see a Dragunov, M1A1 and M3 at the very least on the table. The Wierd It 15:35, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

Is that not the muzzle brake of a PK or early-PKM in the extreme left of the photo? You can only see some of the barrel and the muzzlebrake.SAWGunner89 17:14, 11 November 2009 (UTC)